Switch.



LGO D N R,

SWITCH.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 10, 1911.

PatentedDec. 3, 1912.

l l L 15 Emmm 7 Innnmfi JOHN GORDON, JR., OF EA$T ORANGE,

PaTEsT' orrrcn.

NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE SIRENO COMPANY, on NEW roan, n. Y., A FIRM.

' I swrrcn,

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed May 10,

I Patent ed Dec. 3, 1912.

1911. Serial No. cac es,

To all whom tt'may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN Gonoon, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, Essex county, State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Switches, of which the following is'a full, clear, and exact description.

'-being shown in section;

elevation, said casing I V line mw,

. being broken away;

. .In the drawings,

My invention relates to improvements in switches for electrical circuits.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple andeffective switch construction, which is exceedingly compact and by which various combinations ofcircuits may be controlled at will.

Figure'l is a front elevation of'my improved -switch,-the casing being shown in sec- Fig. 3 is a section ont e plane of the Fig, 1, lookingldownhFig. '4: is a plan view of the parts as shown in Fig. 1, the handle and. upper parts of the casing Fig. 5 is a'd-etail view; Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are plan views respectively of different stationary contact members.

1 represents the base upon which the various parts are mounted; 2 represents a station tionary hub or contact carrier, the exposed forward side of which is semi-barrel shaped.

- 3 is a shaft passing concentrically through the hub 2.

4:. is a 'U-shaped bracket carried by the shaft 3 and in turn carrying movable contacts.-

The stationary contacts, to w t, the contacts earned by the hub 2, are shown, re-

' spectively in Figs. 6, 7 and 8 and are indicated respectlvely by the numerals 5, 6

'12,- all of which may and 7 8 represents an additional contact or'block having recesses therein for receiving a spring pressed detent 9, which serves to hold the brackett in any operative positions and in addition serves to conduct the current from a service ter- The bracket carries,

contact members or brushes 9, 10, 11 and be similarly constructed, a description of one suflicing for all. In Fig. 3, the movable cont-act member or brush is mounted in a suitable guide and is pressed forwardly by a spring located at its rear so-thatit will yieldingly bear against the surface of the hub 2. That 1 ticular instance Fig. 2--is a sldeone of' several insulating materialfiush with the segment ends of the stationary contacts 5, 6 and 7, so that when one or more of, these. contacts 5,6 or 7 is engaged by the brushes 9,10,11 or 12, the circuit will be closed. In this par-' the block '8 is arranged in circuit and, as will be seen from Fig. 5. of the drawings, has its are longer than those of segments 5, 6 and 7.

The means for connecting the circuit wires (not shown) to the various contact pieces and theblock may comprise, as shown, ter- 4 minal ends 13, 14, 15 and 16, all of which are properly insulated from each other and in contact respectively with their respective contact members. 17 represents an inlet for the circuit wires, said inlet leading into the casing 18, whichrlfii serves to cover and protect the switch mechanism. p

In the particular arrangement *shoWn, there are four different positions provided a. for the switch, and these may be respec-= tively indicated by the notches inthe block 4:, said notches beingindicated by the numerals 19, 20,421 and 22. When the switch bracket 4: is in a osition in front of the notch 19, the several movable contacts 9, 10, 11 and 12, will bear against that part of the surface of the hub 2 formed of insulating material and consequently n'o circuit will be I closed. When, however, the bracket t has been moved to the position shown in 1, that is, in front of the notch 20, the brushes .10.and 11 will engage with the stationary cont-acts 5 and 6 respectively, closing the two circuitsin the following manner: One circuit entering through terminal 14 passes, through the stationary contact 5, movable contact 10, bracket 4, block 8 and terminal 13. The other circuit will pass through theterminal 15, stationary contact 6, movable contact 11, bracket 4, block 8 and terminal 13. When the switch is moved to the third position, the stationary contacts 6 and 7, and in this. particular instance, the stationary contact 5 will not be in circuit in view of the fact that the movable contact '10 will rest upon the insulated part of the hub-2 between the two segments of contact '5. When the'switcli is, moved'fto the [fourth position in front of the notch 22, the three c rcuits leading to 110 it will close the circuits through H the contacts 5, 6 and 7 will all be closed in the manner apparent from the foregoing description. By this means, various combinations of circuits may be very simply and quickly controlled.

It is apparent, of course, that the shaft 3, in the particular construction shown, should be insulated from the several stationary cont-acts 5, 6 and 7 and preferably from the block 8, the sleeve 23 of insulating material arranged between said shaft and said parts furnishing the said insulating means.

24 is a handle, preferably removable from the upper end of the shaft 3, by which the position of the contact carryingbracket 4 may be readily shifted to the desired position.

What I claim is: 1'. In an electric switch, a base, a hub, insulated segmental fixed contacts carried thereby and arranged in different planes intersecting the axis of said hub, a bracket mounted on said hub, the middle part of said bracket being arranged to sweep over said fixed contacts, a plurality of contacts adapted respectively to said fixed contacts and carried by said bracket, means for causing said contacts to yieldingly press against each other, means for frictionally holding said bracket in any one of a plurality of positions, said means comprising a stationary contact plate carried by the hub and having recesses therein, and a spring detent contact carried by said bracket and arranged to engage in the recesses in said plate. 2. In an electric switch, a stationary hub of insulating material, segmental contacts of different lengths carried thereby, said segmental, contacts overlapping each other at their ends as to axial alinement, a-bracket mounted to sweep above the surface of said hub, a plurality of yieldingly supported.

contacts carried by and in connection with said bracket adapted to engage the segmental contacts on the hub and forming with said hub contacts and said bracket a plurality of supply circuits, the segmental contact of greatest length having recesses and being in permanent contact with its cooperating bracket contact, and said recesses being positioned to engage said bracket contact and position said bracket With different combinations of hub and bracket contacts in electric connection.

3. In an electric switch, a stationary hub, insulated contacts of different lengths carried thereby, one of said contacts being of greater length than the rest and overlapping them as to axial alinement, a bracket mounted to sweep above the surface of said hub carrying and in connection with separate yieldingly supported contacts adapted to engage the contacts on the hub and forming With said hub contacts and said bracket a plurality of supply circuits, the segmental contact of greatest length having recesses in its edge, and the yieldingly supported bracket contact cooperating therewith being formed as a spring-pressed ball engaging the periphery of said recessed segment and adapted to engage with the recesses therein to frictionally hold said bracket in various positions relative to said hub, and thereby effect electrical connection between the hub and bracket contacts.

JOHN GORDON, JR.

Witnesses:

R. C. MITCHELL, E. E. Monsa.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Washington, D. G.

Commissioner of Patents, 

